


Red Eye

by tromana



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Case Fic, Challenge Response, Crime Scenes, Drama, Episode Tag, Episode: s01e16 Bloodshot, Gen, Paint It Red Challenge, Role Reversal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-22
Updated: 2013-06-26
Packaged: 2017-12-15 19:02:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/852967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tromana/pseuds/tromana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Lisbon was the one who was temporarily blinded?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sirenofodysseus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sirenofodysseus/gifts).



> Written for the June 2013 Monthly Challenge on Paint It Red. The intention of this story is to stick pretty closely to the original episode, but with one key difference, as per the summary.

It started very much like an ordinary day for Teresa Lisbon. Or at least, it was as ordinary as it could be for the Senior Agent of the Serious Crimes Unit in the California Bureau of Investigation. Arguably, there was no such thing as a 'normal day' for herself and her team. Each day threw up different issues and different challenges. And, in her honest opinion, most of them were ultimately linked to one Patrick Jane.

Even so, she'd woken up early, looking forward to a nice and quiet work day. They didn't have any current cases to worry about - they had been going through a quiet spell ever since the Carnelian Inc. debacle - so it was mostly just paperwork and cold cases that they had to be concerned with. As a consequence, she had braced herself for dealing with a bored and irritable Patrick Jane; he never dealt with these quiet phases particularly well. However, dealing with him was all part of the job and had been ever since Minelli had decided it would be a good idea to allow a victim to consult on cases to keep him 'happy'. But now, as she had adjusted to the change, she had grown somewhat fond of this strange and broken man. She wanted to save him from himself before it was too late; she almost saw him as a person 'work in progress' as such. Since he started at the CBI, he had already changed considerably. Now, she was almost hopeful that she could make him see sense when it came to Red John. She hoped he would discover that he did have a reason to keep living. There was still time for all that. During these quiet phases, she too found herself thinking more about Jane and Red John. How he had suffered a breakdown and when he recovered, decided he needed to exact his revenge. There was no denying that Red John needed to be caught and tried for his crimes, but revenge was no way to go about it. She just prayed that she could be more successful at saving Jane than she had been certain prominent individuals in her past.

Lisbon arrived to work at the crack of dawn, long before anyone else bothered to turn up. With a coffee in hand, she settled behind her desk to check her e-mails and in tray for anything of interest. When her hands skimmed across some auditing files, she sighed inwardly. Although she very much adored her job and loved doing what she did, the paperwork had always been the very worst part of it. While some of it was necessary, naturally, Lisbon had always believed that if they could spend more time catching criminals then filling out forms, then maybe crime wouldn't be such an issue anymore. But, she was in no place to question authority and their love of recording things a bare minimum of three times over. She had a team to run and if she wanted to be an effective leader, that meant she sometimes had to bend down to the whims of authority. Therefore, the excess paperwork was a necessary evil. Slowly, she sorted out what she needed to pass onto each team member - knowing full well that Jane wouldn't do his share anyway - before getting on with her own work.

It was a good half an hour later when Wayne Rigsby and Kimball Cho arrived, together. Wednesdays; they went for a run together on Wednesdays; that was something she knew about it. The two had been firm friends almost since the very beginning; all it had taken was Rigsby having to get used to Cho's quiet nature for them to be able to work together effectively. Soon after, Jane and Van Pelt drifted in. She frowned when she realized that the latter was in an altogether far too cheerful mood, but didn't bother to comment. It wasn't her place to make judgment on the team's private lives; so long as it didn't interfere with their work, she didn't particularly care.

After returning to her office, the silence was short-lived. Soon enough, she heard Jane yelling her name from the bullpen and the sense of urgency in his voice was all too apparent. She knew that there were occasions when he cried wolf, but these couple of years of working with him had meant that she had slowly but surely learned the difference in his tone of voice. Like Rigsby and Cho, they had had to get used to one another. In truth, she still was adjusting to her consultant's mad idiosyncrasies. Sometimes, she just wished that he had a little more common sense and some of her respect for authority. Then, it would have made both their lives a hell of a lot easier.

For now, that was irrelevant. What was far more important was the fact that Jane was thrusting his cellphone into her hands. Gently, she held it in her grasp and scanned the words.

_There's a very large bomb nearby. Are you smart enough to find it?_

Her heart sank. Bomb threats weren't all too uncommon for the CBI, but this was one of the more unusual methods for them to hear about it. Several questions immediately sprung to mind: why today? Why through Jane's phone? Why challenge him to find it? Why, why, why? It was like the person threatening knew that Jane couldn't say no to a challenge. They wanted to put his life into danger, or...

It could have been a hoax. There might not be a bomb at all. The person who sent the message might have wanted Jane to be driven mad trying to find it. He loathed being wrong, more so than anybody else she had ever come across. Lisbon knew that if he didn't work out this puzzle one way or another, then it would plague him for a long while.

She shook her head. It didn't matter. What was far more important was to pass the message onto Minelli, get the bomb squad here so they could search the building more effectively. And most importantly, they had to get everyone out and into a safe place. She had to make sure she kept Jane tethered to her side. Already, as they were leaving side by side, she could see that he was already thinking deeply about this message. It had gotten under his skin and wormed its way into his mind. Lisbon hated seeing this look on his face because she knew that it always ended up in trouble. It worried her even more so when she realized that he did absolutely believe this was all about him rather than a threat to the CBI as a whole. Between Minelli's fretting and Jane's apprehension, Lisbon found herself struggling to manage the both of them.

"Where's the bomb squad?" Minelli groused beside her as the building was evacuated of its staff. "They should be here by now."

"They're on their way now. P.D. did an initial sweep of the building; so far they haven't found anything."

"Okay, if this really is about Jane, I don't want him just... I... Hey!"

"Jane," she called as said consultant started to wander off.

Briefly she glanced at Minelli before hurrying to catch him up. Lisbon knew she didn't have to worry about any of the others; they were unlikely to willfully put their lives into danger. Jane would have argued the contrary, but it was a part of their contracts to save lives. There was a massive difference between getting involved in a shootout to rescue kidnapped twins to trying to find a bomb just to prove a point.

"The text said 'a large bomb'. A large bomb can only be transported in a large car. It didn't say inside CBI, it said nearby. Ergo, the parking lot. Simple," he explained, with a hint of patronization in his town of voice.

"Exactly, they challenged you to an easy puzzle. They _want_ you to find the bomb."

"If there is a bomb. Could be just a hoax, as you said."

She scowled at him, but didn't say anything. That was mostly because her cellphone was ringing in her pocket. Without looking, she answered the call. Minelli wanted Jane back on CBI premises, but she already knew that was something far easier said than done. He was too busy peering into all the large vehicles situated in the parking lot. But something about this whole situation suggested that Jane was most probably right and it wasn't a hoax. It was when he called her name urgently yet again that she ignored her boss and realized that her worst fears were confirmed: people's lives were really at stake.

When she peered in the back window of the grubby white van, she saw the handcuffed man struggling against his bonds. Blood was trickling down his face, the words 'ur next' were written on his forehead in black marker and he was utterly desperate. Looking briefly at the floor, it was obvious why. He literally had seconds left to live and there was nothing she could do about it, even if she wanted to. There was no time to save this man's life. This case had immediately changed from bomb threat and potential terrorism to cold-blooded murder.

It took every effort to drag Jane away. At literally the last second, he gave up trying to save this man's life and realized that she was talking sense. As she darted away from the van, she heard the explosion go off behind her. Lisbon turned to see Jane rolling awkwardly over a nearby car and it was inevitable that he was going to fall to the ground. Ignoring the searing heat, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut and rushed to help him to his feet.

"I'm fine," he breathed, panting heavily and a wave of relief washed over her at his words. "I'm okay."

But when she opened her eyes again, all she saw was darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

"What's the verdict, doctor?"

Jane's voice sounded altogether far too sunny for Lisbon's liking and she scowled in distaste. He shouldn't have been here anyway; she certainly hadn't given him any permission to come into her hospital room and be there while she received results. It was a case of gross disrespected and that irked her considerably. That wasn’t to say she didn’t expect such behavior from him, mind; she had grown used to him flaunting loopholes in rules, or outright breaking them depending on his whims. Therefore, she didn't bother spending even a moment wondering how or why Jane had done this. That would have been a waste of her precious time. Teresa Lisbon already knew exactly what he was like. He was incorrigibly curious and just had to know everything about everyone around him. Naturally, since he had joined the CBI and she had become his boss, and that included her. Sometimes, he even managed to trick her into believing they could be good friends one day. She certainly enjoyed his company and he definitely made work far more interesting to say the least, but that didn't change one simple fact: as it stood, right now, they were merely colleagues. Or at the very least, that was what she firmly told herself on a regular basis.

"What the hell are you doing here, Jane?" she snapped in response.

"I'm glad to hear that your tongue is still in fine form, Lisbon," he answered back and she could practically imagine the smug grin that was written all over his features. The lack of eyesight hadn't affected her imagination one bit.

Even so, she was still scared. Although her job was dreadfully dangerous, Lisbon had never spent the time questioning what would happen if she fell ill and became physically incapable of doing her job. She was a pragmatist; she'd had to be ever since her mom had died in that car crash. If something happened to her or somebody she cared about, then she just had to deal with the consequences when it happened. That wasn't to say she hadn't altered her lifestyle in some ways; there was a reason she couldn't hold down a relationship and she hadn't started a family. However, thinking about the dangers of the job just made everything worse. If she thought too deeply about it then it would destroy her reputation as a cop. She would have become merely a pencil pusher, or worse, unable to face it at all. And Teresa Lisbon loved her job; she knew it was what she was meant to do. She certainly hadn't fallen into it by accident; thus far, her whole career had been carefully orchestrated in order to achieve what she wanted to. As a woman, that had been necessary from the very beginning. After all, this was a very masculine business to be in and she was far from being masculine herself. Still, she had achieved everything she had dreamed of and more. She couldn’t have been much happier with what she had done with her life.

But, since Jane had entered into her career - and her life - things had been changing. She wasn't as under control as she used to be. There were things she was learning that she couldn't handle. Lisbon hated admitting failure, and she wasn’t going to do that. Instead, she just dug her heels in that little bit harder and hoped for the best. Ergo, she was going to keep fighting or go down trying. That had at least been her intention up until now.

It had finally culminated in this: she had been blinded.

How the heck was she meant to be a cop when she couldn't see what she was doing? This disablement prevented her from doing virtually every aspect of her job. She couldn't see a way forward - both literally and metaphorically. That was what made it all the worse. In a few brief moments, it was entirely possible that she had lost everything that she held dear to her. And that was all because of her hero complex and her need to save Patrick Jane from himself. She hadn't been able to save her father and here, in front of her, was her second chance to prove that she could save people.

He may have just been a colleague, he may have been a friend by the vaguest definition, but that didn't stop her from caring deeply about him. Patrick Jane had wormed his way into her psyche and now she could barely stop thinking about him. This was probably why he had been so successful when he had been masquerading as a psychic prior to the death of his family.

And arguably, it was an accident at work. That was the one place she had always felt safe in, even with the occasionally violence threats that were expected with the job. Minelli hadn’t stopped by yet, but she could already hear him claiming culpability and insisting that the CBI would buy her the best healthcare possible. She could even hear him promising that – if this condition did turn out to be possible – the CBI would look after her in her retirement. The very thought of that word made her shudder. She was far too young to retire; she had far too much left to achieve. Catching Red John was just the start of a very long list. And even if he did offer those promises, she wouldn’t believe them, much less accept them. For a start, the CBI wouldn’t be able to afford such luxuries. In addition to that, her personal pride wouldn’t allow her to make such claims. Still, she thanked God that she had the common sense to take out very thorough healthcare insurance.

But it wouldn’t come to that. It _couldn’t._ She couldn’t have just lost everything that was dear to her… could she?

She blinked. Lisbon could feel the soft bandages wrapped tightly against her eyes to protect them from further damage. She was aware of the crisp cotton sheets underneath her and resting against her lap. She could hear the footsteps of Patrick Jane approaching her bedside as they waited for the results from the rigorous testing she had had to endure since the explosion.

But still, she saw nothing.

And for the first time in a very long while, Teresa Lisbon was actually scared of just what the future might entail.

"I've gone deaf, not blind," she eventually groused when she heard him sit beside her. "There's no need for you to patronize me like that."

"I think you might mean the other way around, my dear," he answered.

"Shut up," she retorted again.

Lisbon heard the rustling of papers and then the doctor cleared her throat. She was infinitely glad that the woman had decided to make sure they both knew she was present. If nothing else, she needed something else to focus on rather than Patrick Jane. That was especially so, given the fact that he was goading her in her hour of need. But again, it was only something which came with the package when it came to him. If he couldn’t solve a situation (or it had nothing to do with his own personal demons and inner turmoil), he made light of it. Sometimes, it was a wonder that he managed to achieve that at all.

Besides, she was strong. She could cope. But she still needed to hear good news from this doctor and fast.

“You were lucky, Agent Lisbon, this could have been much worse,” the doctor started with, but Lisbon maintained her stony expression until she heard something more solid to give her confidence in this statement.

“’Much worse’ sounds like a euphemism for ‘it’s still pretty bad to me’.”

“But I bet you use that phrase all the time with your superiors, Lisbon,” Jane interrupted.

“Mr. Jane, you are only here because Agent Minelli insists that one of Agent Lisbon’s co-workers be present when she receives her results,” the doctor answered back calmly. “So if you don’t mind…”

“I didn’t need a babysitter, and definitely not _him_. But why can’t I see?”

“The blindness should be fleeting. It’s most likely due to small, floating blood clots in the vessels in the eyes, demonstrating a CVI or cortical visual impairment.”

For the most part, Lisbon understood the gist of what the doctor had told her. She had read enough autopsy reports in her lifetime to understand many medical conditions. When she added her family dramas, issues with her co-workers and subordinates, and friends, who all seemed to look to her for advice, she had quickly picked a lot up over the years. And while the doctor had said the blindness should only be fleeting, that didn’t mean it would be.

“How long will my vision be impaired?”

“It’s hard to say. The body’s healing powers are unpredictable. However, forty-eight to seventy-two hours is the norm. We must wait and see, so to speak.”

“Ha, very humorous,” Jane added.

“I bet you wouldn’t find it very funny if our roles were reversed. Thank you, Doctor but I think I need some time alone now.”

“Agent Lisbon, this is temporary. Your sight _will_ return, and you will be back to work. But it’s gonna take time and patience for you to recover.”

“I know, thank you.”

The door opened again and slammed quickly shut as the doctor made her exit. Briefly, she felt Jane’s fingers skimming across her hand, so Lisbon quickly moved it. She didn’t much feel like receiving his pity. All she really wanted was to feel better already and go back to work. There was a murderer-come-terrorist on the loose and she now had a very personal reason to be invested in the case.

But one small thought lingered in the back of her mind: what if the diagnosis was wrong?


	3. Chapter 3

After the doctor left, Cho promptly arrived. Awkwardly, Lisbon shuffled on her hospital bed to get a little more comfortable. She hoped that he had at least brought some good news about the case with him. A solid lead would help them to close the case. It would mean they could get justice for the poor man who had lost his life in the bomb explosion. It would also mean they would discover who had inadvertently caused her injury. The irony that Jane had been much more invested in the preventing the explosion but had come through it completely unscathed wasn’t lost on her. All she could do now was try and maintain some semblance of dignity during this difficult moment in her life.

“How is she?” he asked.

“She doesn’t like unexpected visitors,” Jane replied.

“I don’t like _bad_ visitors,” she retorted.

“I’m not a bad visitor; you’re a bad patient.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, really,” he answered back. “I can see you’re practically dying to get off that hospital bed and back to work. But you, my dear, have to rest. Doctor’s orders.”

“I don’t recall her saying anything about resting.”

Cho cleared his throat and Lisbon immediately felt guilty. She should have known better than mouthing off at Jane in front of one of her subordinates. Especially so when it came to Cho; they had worked together for a long time now and their respect for one another was mutual and ran deep. But now, she was behaving unprofessionally and the fact she had been blinded was no excuse for that. At this moment, they had a case to work on and that should be the priority. And besides, beyond the lack of sight, she felt absolutely fine. There were still things she could do like this. She’d figure it out, anyway.

“What did you find out?” Lisbon asked after a moment’s silence. After all, there was no other reason why Kimball Cho would appear by her bedside.

“The victim is James Medina, 44, stockbroker out of Highlands. The van wasn’t his, it was reported stolen yesterday. We’re digging up everything we can on Medina. The question is, is it possible he was on some kind of bizarre suicide mission?”

“No,” Jane suddenly spoke up, his voice hoarse. Obviously he was beginning to put the pieces together. “I looked in his eyes. He was very much a man who didn’t want to be where he was. Whoever did this wanted me to watch James Medina die in terror.”

Jane’s words settled uncomfortably in the room. Lisbon wasn’t surprised in the slightest that this case was all linked to Jane; the fact that the bomb threat had come through his cellphone had set the scene. The question was, could her consultant figure out who was responsible for this murder before anybody else got caught up in this mess? She had faith in his skills; she had to. However, whenever a case had a personal involvement, it always clouded Jane’s judgment. In reality, she wanted him off the case. But, Cho was acting Senior Agent until she recovered her vision, ergo, she wasn’t the one to make that important decision. Of course, Lisbon understood Cho’s plight. He couldn’t really operate with just three members of the team in action – and even though Jane’s perception had been warped, he could provide unique insight into the case. It really was a double-edged sword.

“Jane…”

“And he nearly killed you.”

“Us,” she corrected him swiftly. After all, she had been mostly clear of the firebomb. He was the one who was in real danger. She had merely been unlucky to end up where she was.

“That wasn’t the intention though.”

“What then?”

“Ur next was written on the man’s forehead.”

She remembered that. She also remembered the look of sheer terror in Medina’s eyes before she had taken flight. Lisbon wished she had been able to do something about it, but it really had been too late.

“Why?” Cho asked.

“Huh, I don’t know why.”

He was lying. He probably knew exactly why. However, Lisbon didn’t have the energy to keep pressing Jane’s buttons now. She hated not being able to actually see him; it surprised her just how much she relied upon her vision to gauge exactly how to respond to him in any given situation.

“We’re gonna find who did this,” Lisbon said with more confidence than she actually felt.

“Yeah, probably.”

“Stop feeling so sorry for yourself, Jane. It could be worse.”

“I’m not feeling sorry for myself. You can’t see.”

“I can still tell. Go on, get out of here. You have a case to solve. Stop worrying about me.”

When both men obeyed her instructions without question or argument, Lisbon was pleasantly surprised. It was nice to know that, even when vulnerable and incapacitated, that she still held onto some semblance of authority. Now, however, she had a far more difficult job to undertake: relaxing while one of her senses was severely impaired.

xxx

It took her less than two hours to grow bored of trying to rest. She knew that she couldn’t exactly go home; it wasn’t exactly suitably furnished for a blind woman, however familiar she was with the space. In fact, her doctor had insisted that she was supervised if she were to be discharged from hospital, so it was out of the question to go there anyway. The doctors put forwards boundaries and ground rules for a reason. Unlike Jane, she was willing to adhere to them, especially if that meant speeding up the healing process.

Even with the support of the security guard, she still edged forwards tentatively. When Grace Van Pelt’s crystal clear voice came through, she smiled gently. This was almost like a homecoming for her anyway. These were people she trusted with her life and she knew she would feel safe with them. Or at least, she'd feel as safe as she could when considering the circumstances.

“Terrence Carter Andrews, 46 years old,” Van Pelt started, presumably briefing the team on a lead. “Worked for two years at Lynch-Halstead in their junior… oh, hey boss! What are you doing here?”

“I needed a change of scenery.”

“Are you sure that’s wise?” the junior agent continued, and it irked her. “I mean, you have to rest to get better…”

“I can rest my eyesight wherever I am. That’s what the bandages are for, right?”

“Yes, right, of course. Sorry, boss.”

She heard the scraping of wheels of one of the office chairs and then, somebody touched her on the shoulder from behind. Lisbon jumped slightly and was only calmed down when Rigsby started to speak.

“Here, sit down.”

“Uh, thanks Rigsby. Whereabouts am I?”

“You’re at Grace’s desk. It’s fine.”

“And what about the case?”

It was obvious that she had just thrown Van Pelt – and the whole team – off their trails of thought about the case due to her unexpected arrival. Maybe Van Pelt had a point about her presence here; what could she really offer the team like this? It wasn’t as if she could offer insight and advice like Jane. In this condition, she couldn’t lead a team. Besides, Cho was probably doing fine anyway. Lisbon clenched her hand around the arm of the chair. She shouldn’t be here, but she had needed to know what was going on. She needed to know that this case was going to get solved – and soon.

“Oh, yes. Andrews. Tax records indicate that he worked as a guard for several security companies that cover the state capitol system.”

“He was a state house employee?” Lisbon asked.

“He worked here.”

“That’s what it says. He also has a rap sheet on him.”

Van Pelt leaned across her shoulder, presumably to be able to reach her computer mouse. She heard the familiar clicking of buttons and wished she could see what was presumably showing onscreen now. Patiently, she waited for clarification of what she couldn’t see.

“Domestic violence and two DUIs.”

“Where’s he working now?” Cho questioned.

“Guest relations manager at something called… Hype.”

“Oh, I know where that is.”

The sound of Jane’s voice drifted over from somewhere to her left. Quickly, she added together the pieces of the puzzle, suddenly appreciating the clarity of mind she had now she was devoid of her sight. He was probably lounging around on the couch, not actually adding anything of use to the investigation. Sometimes, Lisbon wished he could be this quiet the vast majority of the time. At least, when he was being lazy, he wasn’t causing her any trouble. However, because he hadn’t been a part of her proverbial welcoming committee, she had automatically assumed that he was out there causing trouble somehow. The fact that he had been there all along made her feel a little uncomfortable.

“Good. Rigsby, Van Pelt. You two go pick Andrews up,” Lisbon spoke clearly, with a familiar sense of authority. “Take Jane with you. He’ll show you the way and it keeps him out of trouble.”

She paused when she realized that nobody was responding to her direct order and then she remembered why. Silently, she imagined them exchanging cautious glances from one another, questioning whether or not they should respond in this situation. And, as much as she appreciated her altered thought processes, she started to hate the whole thing all over again. It shouldn’t have been like this. It was wrong.

“Uh, if Cho agrees to that, of course.”


End file.
